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what kind of bug is this?

I was noticing some new dandelion blooms and was pleased to see that my bees had found about every one, then I looked closer, and they wern't bees, these things have been in the house all winter, and we can't figure out how to get rid of them, when I saw them on the flower, I thought, I hope pollen doesn't attract them to the hive. Anyone know what they are, or if they will bother the bees?

Re: what kind of bug is this?

You're right Lakebilly, they are boxelder bug (Boisea trivittata. They don't hurt much, but they are a nuisance when the weather first starts warming up. They like Maple trees, but come into the house to stay warm.

Re: what kind of bug is this?

They are Box Elder bugs.
Look for a tree locally with them on if it is a Box Elder Tree cut it down and they will leave. We had them in Pa. and the exterminator (for give me this was in a past life.) told us what to do and that got rid of them.
Jim

Re: what kind of bug is this?

The dreaded box elder bug! Box elder trees are in the maple family I believe so anywhere that is wet like creek bottoms and such are more likely to have these trees. It would be impossible to get rid of all of these trees around my house. Never really noticed these bugs ever until the past two years. Kinda strange I think.

Re: what kind of bug is this?

Not to scare you, but as a student in Entomology, I can tell you that it is REALLY hard to identify an insect from the picture. There is a group of insect known as the assassin bug which looks VERY close to that in some species, and some genus/species of them specialize in sitting on flowers, and waiting for pollinators to come so they may eat them. Unless you have a microscope and a taxonomy key it would be too hard to tell.

Re: what kind of bug is this?

It is a "boxelder" bug. I grew up with them in Wisconsin. We have thousands around our home in the woods at different times of the years. Sometimes they become annoying in the house but my wife refuses to kill even one. We leave them alone or shuttle them outside on a piece of paper (sometimes that is a lot of shuttling). They are totally harmless in my 52 years of experience of intense experience

Re: what kind of bug is this?

They are a nuisance because of their numbers and their longevity (thousands are clustered on my house and have been all winter and are still alive, and we have cold winters...) but they are otherwise harmless. They are definitely box elder bugs. The shape and the red stripe are a dead give-away.